Formation of a Father Figure
by Circa91
Summary: Set in a demon free AU Through a series of misfortunes Oga is an only child who is lumped with caring for his nephew. Starting a new school after moving back to his hometown his entire life will be turned upside down. How will he land on his feet? Who will he meet to help him? I do not own Beelzebub or its characters. Just this story.
1. Prologue - Oga

New Father

Prologue: Oga

It took far longer than I remembered to walk here from the station... probably wouldn't have taken as long if I'd gotten off at the right one. Ah well, you live and learn, right?

Not in my family I guess. Damn it, I thought I was done with this.

In my 16 years I have lost pretty much every member of my family, one way or another.

My mother set the trend by dying giving birth to me; at that point nobody knew that fate hadn't finished messing with our family.

After she died it was down to my dad, by himself, to look after me and Misaki (my sister). She's was 10 when I was born; so she ended up taking care of me until dad got off work, in an evening and during the holidays. It wasn't easy but we were all happy in our 3-person family... at least until I was 6.

I was laying on the sofa watching some anime on the TV, Misaki let me watch it while she was cooking dinner, when I heard the phone ring. I remember shouting through to the kitchen.

"Misaki, the phone!"

"I've got something frying so could you get it for me? I don't want it to burn." Misaki replied over her shoulder before turning back to the pan in front of her.

"Sure." I called back as I walked over to grab the phone; as I walked over to have my world fall apart.

The call had been from the police to let us know that dad had bled out after being stabbed in a mugging gone wrong.

After that, at only sixteen, Misaki became the sole guardian of 6 year old boy. She later told me that I had cried for days till I was eventually dry of tears and only then did she send me back to school.

So then our, now, family of 2 began our life together. To help me get over dad's death, my sister signed me up at the local karate dojo. Turned out I was a natural. At age 14 I even got into the national championship... didn't place, but off the back of that I got offered a scholarship to join this sports school where they would let me move up through both their middle and high schools.

I knew that Misaki and her new husband were looking to start a family, and the school was offering me to let me live in their boarding house for free, so I decided to get out of their hair.

Misaki didn't wait long. A few months later she told me she was pregnant and ended up giving birth to green haired (none of us had any idea how that happened) baby boy a year after I left the house.

They named the brat Bando Leo (Leo was the name of the guy who ran the orphanage that her husband was raised at). It didn't take long, however, for me to give him his nickname.

Beel.

You wouldn't have believed it to look at him, but the little guy could scream. Having come back to stay with them over winter break I learned the migraine inducing potential of the kid first hand. Not only that but he just didn't sleep. By that point I was calling him a devil-child whenever my sister wasn't in the room but a word from the wise... always check behind you.

After one smack on the top of your head from a freshly washed frying pan (wielded by a very sleep deprived new-mother) you learn to be a bit smarter.

I did some research looking for the worst dudes in mythology till I stumbled upon Beelzebub. Apparently he was some big bad demon dude in Christianity who was also known as the Lord of Flies (if you ever changed one of his diapers you would see how fitting the name was). The genius of the name was if I shortened it to the first 2 syllables it sounded like the start of the kid's name in romaji. It was perfect; Misaki even praised me for getting close enough to use a pet name.

I was coming back to spend winter break, with Misaki and her new family, when fate played its final card.

Snow had been falling hard for the last few days so my sister and her husband said they would pick me up from the train station rather than make me walk through it. After I got off the train I sat around for over half an hour, waiting for them to arrive. I would have called them but my phone had died on the train so I had no way to contact them so I just decided I would walk to their house and either berate them for forgetting about me or call from their home phone to tell them to come back.

After trudging through the snow for half an hour I finally reached their home and, realising none of the nights were on, collected a sleeping Beel from the old lady next door (they usually left him with her when they needed to go out past his bedtime). After laying him down in his crib I decided to pilfer their kitchen rather than call them right away... recompense for leaving late to collect me. Just as I finally found something the phone started to ring.

Croquette in mouth, I sauntered over to the phone wholly expecting my sister to be on the other end; so much so that I was already preparing my smarmy reply to her "Why the hell didn't you wait for us".

So, reply firmly fixed in my head, I picked up the phone, smirk plastered on my face.

"Hello. Is this the Bando residence? I am calling on behalf of the police department, with whom am I speaking?" this deep voice was definitely not Misaki's. Deja-vu froze me for several moments as I recalled a call from almost 10 years ago.

"Excuse me, but with whom am I speaking?" the resonating voice of the police officer at the other end of the repeated.

"Oga", my throat was dry but I dutifully cleared it "Oga Tatsumi, I'm Mr Bando's brother in law."

"Ah, I'm very sorry to inform you there has been an accident involving Mr Bando's car. Unfortunately, neither of the occupants of the car survived the collision."

The call lasted for several more minutes as the policeman gently told more details of the crash. Apparently they had slipped on the icy roads and made contact with... something. I'm sure he told me but all I hear was the buzzing in my ears. As I looked over at the baby, sleeping blissfully in the corner, all I could think was that he would never see his parents again.

Several days later I realised I had to make a decision. With no other family members to speak of, on either side, I had to choose whether to take him to an orphanage or whether to raise him myself.

Misaki had left almost no savings behind. This house was rented with the proceeds from renting out the house I'd grown up in. We had left there when I was 12, after Misaki got married, so that they could live closer to where he worked. For some reason she had never sold it (maybe she had planned on giving it to me some day) so that mean I would have a place to live. I had already contacted my school to ask if the scholarship would extend to a dependant; but they refused saying that they couldn't have a baby in the dormitory and couldn't make my scholarship any larger.

With no financial aid there was no way I could afford day-care for Beel and still attend school. I'd promised Misaki, years before, that I would attend college and do her proud; that meant dropping out was not an option.

Misaki had, when she was the same age as I am now, become my guardian when we were left with nobody else. As a last resort I decided to contact the school near to where our family home was if they could give me money to put Beel in day-care while I was attending their school.

"Ha! I can't afford to put new doors on my classrooms but you think we can afford to care for your kid every day? Ha!" The principal cracked up while shooting down my last hope.

"Isn't there _anything_ you can do? I'm this kid's only living relative and this is our _very_ last option." I begged as my guilt at failing my sister started to overwhelm me.

"Well I guess you could bring him with you..." the principal said, voice laden with trepidation.

"Done! See you on Monday." Clicking off before he had the chance to take the offer back.

I'd done it. I'd found a place for Beel and me. When I discovered that the family home had recently been vacated I figured it must have been divine providence.

So I packed up mine and Beel's lives into boxes and set off for the family home. Me and Beel on the train and all the boxes in a removal van coming tomorrow.

So here I am, a 16 year old guy with baby on his back (in a carrier of course you don't expect a 1 year old to hang on by himself right?). Standing in front of a house that is full of memories of a now dead family; with a weird looking kid that I can barely stand; and to top it off I have to try and get into a college based on the education of a place that can't afford to replace the classroom doors...

What the hell have I gotten myself into?

Screw it, what's done is done. Tomorrow I'll go and see if Furuichi is still around, he was always good to mooch things from.

* * *

So this is my first go at writing anything like this. I wanted to the prologue quite a bit shorter than this but realised I needed this much to make it believable that someone would bring a 1 year old to school with him.

Hilda is going to be half-German and a member of the red tails. Not a leader but a reluctant member. Oga and her will meet in the next chapter.

So do you think I should continue writing this? Please review to let me know that you read it and what your opinion is. Good or bad I don't mind, I just want feedback.

Thanks for reading this long and hope to talk to you again.


	2. Chapter 1 - Oga

Chapter 1: Oga

It's only the first day that I'm attending Ishiyama High School.

As I listen to the rumble of the chainsaw engine in front of me I mutter to myself

"Now that's why the principal didn't seem overly thrilled about me bringing Beel."

The day had started pretty normally, for me at least.

Wake up at 6 and do my morning exercises... quietly. Don't want the baby to wake up any sooner than necessary! By 7:00 the chlorophyll haired, little brat would be up and screaming. Now I have to follow the checklist to work out what the hell is wrong this time.

1. Does his diaper stink? This morning's answer is no. I changed it at 5:00, so that is no surprise.

2. Is he hungry? No. I thought I had it since he stopped crying while drinking out of his sippy-cup. I always thought babies drank out of bottles; it turns out that it's not good for them to do that after 12 months, who knew? But anyway, the second he finished he started his ear-splitting wail again.

3. When all else fails... distractions.

While I re-enacted a nonsensical play, with a sock puppet on each hand, Beel finally quietened down. While I looked into the wonder filled eyes of the baby in front of me, I started to think about the future.

When he starts to talk, how am I going to tell him about his parents? What will he see me as? A million questions buzzed through my brain, and no matter how hard I searched I couldn't answer any of them...

"Dah buh!"

Beel's reproach cut through the noise inside my head and returned me to reality. As I looked at hands, I realised that I had stopped the puppet show; in all honesty I had no idea how long ago I'd stopped.

"Sorry Beel," I looked at the time, and realised I would have to leave in half an hour, "you wanna come with me and get ready for school with me?"

"Ai, dah."

I scooped up the bouncing baby from the sofa and, with him sat in the crook of my arm, carried him through to the bedroom. Now, here comes the fun part.

If I left that kid to his own devices, he would happily leave the house in nothing but his diaper. Getting him in clothes is always a battle of wills. His limbs will move in every direction but the one direction I need them to go. As a result, I spent 20 of the precious 30 minutes getting him into a semblance of order. With only 10 minutes remaining; I had a quick wash (since I hadn't had time after my work out), combed down my bed hair, brushed my teeth and chucked my uniform on, before I heard to shout from outside my window. Not bad, if I do say so myself.

"Oi, Oga, you ready?" Furuichi called, as he leant again a street lamp, checking the emails on his phone.

"I'm coming out now." I replied as I put Beel in the baby harness and slung it over my shoulders. I quickly checked the baby bag to make sure I had baby food, diapers, notepad and pens before I left the house and locked the door.

"So you really weren't kidding about bringing the kid to school with you?" Furuichi asked incredulously.

"Well what else was I supposed to do? As I said last night, I can't afford day-care."

"Don't say I didn't warn you..."

As we walked in silence down the road, I used this time to really study my best friend since childhood.

Furuichi lived just down the road from me so we hung out for years before me and my sister moved in with her soon-to-be husband. Apart from getting taller, he hadn't really changed much. His hair was still that odd, steel grey that looked so out of place on a teenager's head. His eyes were such a light blue they almost seemed grey, apparently the result of some western blood somewhere in his family tree. With his slim build, odd hair and pale eyes he cut a, if not hot, pretty striking image. Evidenced by the constant string of girlfriends he'd had since we were in elementary school.

To break the silence I decided to broach a topic that would be sure to get him talking.

"So what are the prospects like at Ishiyama? Anyone you've got your eye on?"

As expected, Furuichi's eyes lit up as his lit up with lust.

"Like you wouldn't believe. Our school is full of beauties... there's only one problem..."

After waiting a moment for him to continue, I cautiously prompted him.

"Which is?"

"Every single one of them is a Red Tail."

Having no clue what that had to with our conversation I asked him,

"What in the world in a Red Tail? Why would that be a problem?"

Furuichi stared daggers at me as he answered my questions.

"The Red Tails one of the gangs at Ishiyama High. The group is composed of the whole female student body, but their cardinal rule is the problem. If you are a Red Tail you aren't allowed to date. Apparently, since the founder didn't have time to date, she decided nobody else should either."

Even after he had finished explaining, Furuichi was still glaring at me. I got that it pissed him off, but why was that anger directed at me? So I asked him exactly that.

"Because it's all your fault." Furuichi retorted venom dripping from his eyes. "That founder was Misaki, and the reason she couldn't date was because she was looking after you."

I stopped walking, stunned for a second, but soon started to chuckle to myself.

"Yeah, sounds like my sister. I can't have a boyfriend, so neither can you. So if a girl wants to get to date, she has to leave the Red Tails?"

Furuichi had stopped glaring at me and replied dejectedly,

"Yeah, but they never do. It's the only protection group in the school for the girls so, unless the girl is exceptionally strong, leaving is a massive risk."

As Furuichi finished speaking, we turned the corner and I got my first glimpse of Ishiyama High School; I now understood why it was a risk for a girl to leave the Red Tails.

"Welcome to Ishiyama High," Furuichi said with a sneer, "the school with a 120% delinquency rate."

It only took one look at the dilapidated exterior of the school, graffiti covering almost every square inch of the walls to believe Furuichi's statement.

As I walked through the school gates, asking myself how a school like this could have ever passed an inspection, a voice cut broke my concentration.

"Ah, so the rumours where true... there is a new dude starting today."

My eyes snapped back from their contemplation of the school building, to see the oddest pair of group of guys I'd ever seen.

"The elder Sanada Brother, Ryuuji. He loves to fight with a switchblade." Furuichi whispered in my ear. "The dude with the chainsaw is his brother, Ryuuichi."

Both of the Sanada brothers had spikey hair almost the same green hue as Beel's, which made me start till I saw the muddy brown roots that were peeking up from the scalp. The similarities ended there however. Ryuuji had a pair of glasses perched on his nose and a long scar down the side of his face. Ryuuichi's face on the other hand had no distinguishing features... so he seemed to make his own. The weirdo just left his tongue hanging out, like he was in the middle of a New Zealand Haka.

"I hope you aren't planning on disciplining the new blood without _us_?" A smooth voice called from further down the alley.

"Wouldn't dream of it!" The younger Sanada brother called back, somehow never retracting his tongue.

"The guy in the suit, who just shouted, is Good Night Shimakawa. The big guy is Killing Machine Abe." A note of fear crept into Furuichi's voice as he said it.

Shimakawa to me didn't exactly look too impressive. He had long, black hair pulled back into a ponytail and a, frankly, plain face. The Abe guy seemed like more impressive. He was shaved bald and was only wearing a tank-top on his upper body, obviously to show off his massive arms.

"Yo, new guy, us 4 rule over all the second years and below in this school." Killing Machine Abe when he realised I was completely unfazed by their arrival in front of me. "We are going to beat you bloody as, sort of a traditional welcome to transfers."

"Okay, but wait a second." I called back, as I jogged over to a blonde girl I saw as I entered the school.

The girl had a great rack on her, but that wasn't the reason I'd come over here. I unslung the carrier from my back and took, a now wide awake, Beel out of it.

"Do you mind holding on to my kid for a bit?" I asked her while handing the green haired baby over to her. "It might get a little loud over there for him."

Without giving her a chance to refuse, I knelt down so that I was on eye level with the infant now in her arms.

"Beel. I'm going to be fighting some people over there but I don't want you to cry, because that might distract me. Men don't cry unless it's necessary, right little guy?"

I held the Beel's gaze till he gave me a hearty, "Ai, dah!"

I ruffled his green hair as I turned away, leaving the baby bag there too, and walked back over to Furuichi.

"Okay then let's get this started shall we?" I say to the group gathered in front of me. "Furuichi, stay out of it. This is my fight."

With a growl of "I'm gonna make you regret those words!" Killing Machine Abe and Good Night Shimakawa charged me down.

Shimakawa got to me first and threw a right hook as he reached me. With my years of martial arts training it was easy enough to dodge that wild punch, so I stuck out my leg to trip him as he ran past. As I had planned he tumbled onto the ground behind me, that gave me a few seconds to deal with the bigger target.

With the size of Abe's arms, a punch from him would hurt; I decided I better knock him out of the fight right now. So, using the X-shaped scar on his cheek as a target, I delivered a jumping, spinning kick to the side of his head, sending him sprawling.

Shimakawa had now got back to his feet and approached me again, more slowly this time. He sent me a few punches which I dodged, not even bothering to raise my arms into a defensive stance. To end the fight I fired my knee into his solar plexus then, as the air whooshed out of his lungs and he doubled over, I punched him in the temple and he was out cold too.

"Pretty impressive, guess we are going to have to get serious." Ryuuichi called as he pulled the cord to start the chainsaw and his brother flicked out the blade on his knife.

So that's how I got to this point. Me, unarmed, facing 2 weapon-wielding weirdos.

Ah well, I got myself into this.

The most dangerous assailant is Ryuuichi with that chainsaw; as he reaches me I realise I going to have to neutralise him quickly. His first attack is an overhead swing which I spin away from. While swing is still in progress I plant a powerful, flat-footed kick to the side of his knee. As I had planned, the joint breaks. There are no half measures when weapons are involved since I can't risk him getting back up.

I drown out his screams of pain, and face the older brother.

He lunges at my stomach with his knife, but he is just too slow. I grab his wrist and twist it till the elbow is pointing upwards and drive mine into his forearm.

As he falls to his knees, cradling his now broken arm, I kick him in the side of the head to knock him out and turn back to his brother.

He scrambles back as I walk over to him, but I easily catch up. In a completely emotionless voice I tell him,

"This is done. I don't want to rule the school and I don't want anything to do with any of your internal power struggles. However, if you ever go after me, my friends or my kid I will not stop at breaking a few bones." With that I smack him in the side of the head and the fight is over.

As I stand up I feel the bile rising in the back of my throat. With effort I swallow it down along with the revulsion that I feel at myself. I stand there till I am able to force a convincing smile and turn back to Beel. I jog back over to him, refusing to meet the eyes of the girl who had the misfortune to be there when I needed someone to hold him. I didn't need to look. The only sensible reaction to what I just did is fear.

"Come on Beel." I said in my most cheerful voice. "We've got to go and sign in at the office."

"Ai, dah," was the Beel's cheerful reply.

He has no comprehension of what I just did to those guys; the sole reason for which was that they were the first to start a fight with me. So thankfully, he still loves me.

To get away from this girl quicker, I just sit Beel against my side on my left arm and pick up the bag and harness with my right hand. As I turn away I say to her,

"Thanks for looking after him." Having said all I could think to say, I strode off toward the school entrance.

"Oga! Let me catch up already." I hear Furuichi call from behind me.

* * *

A/N - So yeah I needed that chapter to be like it was for the sole reason that I didn't want to have to write a lot of fights. Usually anyone joining Ishiyama would have to fight till they found their place in the hierarchy. To skip all that I made his first fight so overwhelming that it would need to be his only one.

From here on in it's going to be a romance story. I really wish I could have started it on a lighter note, but this is the only way I could figure to make it believable that he wouldn't have to fight there (while still being strong).

So, as with last time, let me know what you think in the reviews. Praise and criticism both accepted.


	3. Chapter 2 - Hilda

Chapter 2 – Hilda

While I was still unpacking my bag, our homeroom teacher Saotome strode into the room.

Saotome is probably one of the strangest looking teachers I have ever had; with a red bandanna wrapped around the base of his long black hair, and stubble surrounding a mouth that permanently had a cigarette lodged between his lips, he looked more like a wandering vagabond than the best educator in this place.

I had to grudgingly admit that he really was the best, being the only one who could keep a class filled with delinquents in line.

"Alright you lot," every word he said, accented by a small cloud of smoke, evidence of the long drag he had taken on his cigarette before confronting the class, "we have 2 new transfers starting today..."

Not listening to what he his saying, I start to replay the morning in my head.

The day started much like any other.

The first thing I must do, before even getting ready for school, is have breakfast with my parents. They both work at my father's company, one of the largest IT consultancies in Japan. As the managing CEO he rarely had the time to come back home during the week, opting instead to sleep in the small bedroom he had attached to his office. While in itself not a problem, it meant that these 'family breakfasts' were only me and my mother.

"Hildagarde," my mother always used my full name, "my sister has informed me that her daughter will be attending your school as of today. I expect you will take care to assure her safety while attending _that_ school."

My mother had never tried to hide her shame in my attending Ishiyama, though in all honesty I did have to admit that it was my fault. I had started high school at Saint Ishiyama Acadamy, though I was soon thrown out for starting a fight with the Rokkisei. The Rokkisei are Ishiyama's disciplinary committee who, unlike most, have the right to expel and student if they break the rules... starting a fight with one definitely counts as breaking the rules. So, with me expelled from the only other school in the school in the area, I had started at Ishiyama High.

"Mother, I've heard your complaints about Ishiyama High enough times. I don't need to hear them again." I quickly finished the eggs benedict that our manservant, Alaindelon, had prepared for this morning's breakfast in silence then left to get ready for school.

As I pulled the back of my long blonde hair into a tight bun, I studied the face I saw in the mirror.

As I always did after I fought with her, I looked for some evidence of my mother's Japanese blood in the features reflected back at me.

Nothing... as I expected.

Whether it be the high cheekbones, the flawless alabaster skin or the jade green right eye that I left uncovered by my hair; I found nothing but my father's German heritage in my appearance. Giving it up for a lost cause, as I had to every time, I fixed my bangs to ensure they hid my left eye. I had been born with heterochromia, and made a point to always cover the left side to my face to hide this fact. My left iris was a block of yellow; it didn't even have the good grace to be flecked with other colours. A cold, unfeeling yellow... like the eyes of a wolf.

After filling my bag with my books for the day, I shrugged on my Red Tails jacket over my uniform, picked up my pink aluminium umbrella and called to Alaindelon to get the car ready. I'd never been allowed to walk to school from the house, my father's orders, but I had grown used to having Alaindelon take me where I needed to go; I had even started to enjoy his company, at least far more than I did my _family's_.

By the time I had climbed down the ornate staircase from the second to the ground floor, exiting through the oaken double doors at the front of the house, Alaindelon had driven the black Mercedes into the courtyard where it sat idling. As I opened the back, passenger side door and settled on the cold, tan leather seat, Alaindelon set off without a word.

While we drove, Alaindelon and I chatted amicably about nothing in particular, while I stared out of the tinted window as the familiar scenery blurred past. Not that I could enjoy it in the air conditioned car, but it was a lovely day today; the beautiful blue sky was tainted only by a handful of small, puffy white clouds.

In no time at all, we arrived at the Ishiyama school gates. As I got out of the car I told Alaindelon to not bother picking me up after school,

"I fancy showing my cousin around the town since she's only just moved into the area. There's no way she's been given a tour yet."

"That will be fine milady. Just be sure to be back before it gets dark, and both of you stay safe."

"Of course we will." I said with a smile and closed the car door.

As the car turned a corner and was lost from sight, I decided I would stand just inside the school grounds and wait for my cousin to arrive. 10 minutes later. When there was still no sign of them, I started to grow tired of waiting.

That was the first time I saw him.

Not sure why, I hid behind the pillar of the pillar of the school gate; head peeking around, I surreptitiously studied the guy who was walking beside Furuichi.

I wasn't sure at first what drew my attention about him; looks-wise he was nothing out of the ordinary. He was tall for Japan, hovering around 6 feet, but wasn't it. He had unkempt, semi-long, brown hair that only barely kept out of his eyes... his eyes. There was an intensity in his eyes that gave me the impression that they were cataloguing everything they saw, ready to draw out the information at a moment's notice. There was also a... grace to his movements like I had never seen before, unmarred by the large blue bag he carried at his side, every step he made spoke of an economy of movement.

Transfixed as I was by this nameless person, I didn't notice as the Sanada brothers strode up to block his path. Soon the other half of the Goon Squad turned up, the name the Red Tails had given to the 4 leaders of the 2nd years. After a few brief words to crowd assembled before him, the brown haired guy's intense eyes locked with mine and he jogged over to me. My face flushed as I realised he must have noticed my analysing him as he walked up to the school.

To my surprise, however, he started to remove the straps of what I had assumed was backpack; this revealed a small, green haired child sat in what had turned out to be a baby harness.

"Do you mind holding on to my kid for a bit?" He handed me the baby without waiting for a response, not that I would have been to... the surprise of him revealing the little boy had fried my brain a little. "It might get a little loud over there for him."

Without another word, he knelt down and looked directly into the eyes of the baby in my arms; the realisation that he was staring directly between my breasts, bringing another flood of blood to my cheeks.

"Beel. I'm going to be fighting some people over there but I don't want you to cry, because that might distract me. Men don't cry unless it's necessary, right little guy?"

Beel, so that was the baby's name. I really thought it suited him for some reason. What surprised me was the serious tone he had used when speaking with the child, there was no hint of the tone most reserved for talking with children Beel's age. Beel seemed to understand what the strange guy had said however, since when he spoke it seemed to be a definite affirmative answer.

As he turned and walked away, I watched the affection that was in his eyes as he rubbed Beel's head drain away. It was too quickly replaced with an expression that spoke of inevitability; something he knew he could not avoid, but wished with his whole heart he could.

The fight was soon joined and I saw immediately that the melee fighters of the Goon Squad were completely outmatched. While the pair were some of the best brawlers in the school, I realised that Beel's father was in another league entirely. Neither Abe nor Shimakawa could land so much as a hit on the new guy as the fight played out like a dance, Beel's father choreographing every moment.

Within seconds, it was over. He turned away from the bodies sprawled over the ground, and looked at the Sanada brothers. I saw fear flash over their faces, a very sensible reaction in my opinion, but they quickly smothered it by readying their weapons. Even with them they were no more a match for Beel's father than the brawlers were. As he walked back over to the groaning Ryuuichi, I realised that this fighter was even more skilled than I had given him credit for. When he fought, he was like a master playing chess; always acting, never reacting. He was an avenging angel; unstoppable, all powerful and merciless. As I started to wonder what sort of creature was capable of this, his next words drew me up short.

"This is done. I don't want to rule the school and I don't want anything to do with any of your internal power struggles. However, if you ever go after me, my friends or my kid I will not stop at breaking a few bones."

I was reminded of a conversation I had had with my father years before, when I heard those words.

In elementary school we had just started learning about World War 2, and several of the bigger kids in the class had surrounded me in the playground. They kept asking me,

"It was your dad's country that started the war... so why was it ours that had to be nuked? Germany just surrendered before the same could be done to them."

When I went home after school that day, it turned out to be one of the rare days that my father come home during the week. I plucked up the courage to ask him the question that the other kids had asked me.

I clearly remember the way my father had contemplated the question, staring into his teacup, before answering.

"Sometimes the quickest way to end a war is with a single action. Violence so inescapable, so profound, that there is no room for retaliation..."

I realised, with a start, that this is what he had done.

The way he had dominated this fight, almost god-like in his ability to damage, had left no room to doubt his words. To fight him was to risk everything to gain nothing; no matter how strong you were he would break you in a way that would prevent you from fighting ever again. In those few sentences, he said that he was no threat unless you made him one.

As he came back towards me I started to doubt my own convictions in the face of the smile on his face... but then I looked at his eyes. Those eyes, that had captivated me since I first saw them, did not share the smile that was on his lips. They screamed the revulsion that he must have felt at what he had just done, and it broke my heart. He had made himself into a monster so that he could protect everything he cared about.

If he had only looked into my eyes once, he would have seen the empathy there, my understanding that what he had done was not who he was... but he never met my eyes... and I couldn't make my mouth work to voice the thoughts in my head.

And then I was alone.

He had grabbed Beel and left and I still couldn't utter a word. The silence was broken by the call of the silver haired Furuichi whose presence, in all honesty, I had forgotten about.

"Oga! Let me catch up already."

"Oga..." I said under my breath. While I was still contemplating this mystery-man's newly revealed name, a familiar voice brought me back to the present.

"What in the _world_ happened here?" said one of the only voices in the world that could improve my day just by hearing it.

"Auntie Laymia!" I exclaimed, as I rushed to embrace the beautiful pink haired woman in front of me. She really couldn't be any less like my mother if she'd tried. Where her sister was warm and happy, my mother was cold and indifferent.

"Hey, Hildy." Lamia called from slightly behind her mother.

Lamia was, undoubtedly, a genius. At age 13 she was going to be in my class this year, but could quite easily have been higher. She had taken the Tokyo University mock entrance exam last year and had scored perfect marks on it. If she so wished she could easily enter university right now so I was initially baffled as to why she was attending my high school.

I disengaged from my aunt and suddenly engulfed my diminutive cousin in a hug, her face buried deep in my chest.

"I've missed you both _so_ much!" joyful tears pricked the corners of my eyes, but I voiced the question that was on my mind. "I don't mean to offend you but why are you here?"

Puzzlement was evident on Laymia's face as she answered me.

"I'm sure I told my sister to you know... I've accepted the position as school nurse."

"And I'm going to be spending as much time as I can, helping my mum with her work." Lamia beamed beneath hair almost the same shade as her mums.

"Yes, yes, we can talk as much as we like later, but we had better get these boys to the infirmary. They need to get some treatment as soon as possible."

My aunt's words made me realise where we had been having our little reunion and I realised she was right.

We spent the next 20 minutes carting the 4 unconscious guys to the nurse's office, with Laymia and I each under an arm and Lamia opening doors as needed. As we worked Laymia asked,

"Is it common for 4 boys to be set on by a group at this school?"

For a second I didn't know what she was talking about, till I realised her error.

"Aunty, these 4 weren't attacked by a group... they had grouped up on the one guy. He did this to them alone and unarmed."

Laymia fell silent at that.

By the time we had finished, it was too late to get Lamia registered at the office if she wanted to get to first class on time.

"Don't worry about it," Laymia told us, "I'll call down to the office and apologise and tell them you will get the paperwork done at lunch."

We rushed from the room with a quick "thanks" and hurried to my homeroom. We had noticed that she was transferring into my class which I was happy about.

After we got to the room, slightly breathless, I told her to wait for the teacher and explain what had happened then entered it.

And that was I got to this point. I watch as behind little Lamia walks in the Oga carrying Beel.

I see him eyeing Saotome's cigarette with disgust and he says,

"Hey, you mind if we sit in the back? I know you won't stop smoking but I want Beel breathing as little as possible."

"I would say yes but there isn't a space at the back." Saotome answered Oga matter-of-factly.

I see a smile cross Oga's face, and butterflies suddenly appear in my stomach,

"Furuichi. Move!"

I hear the chair directly behind me squeak in protest as it is pushed back; I feel my face drain of colour as I realise. Furuichi was directly behind me... that means Oga is now. The possibilities of this new situation swam through my mind as I he was walking to the newly vacated seat. I know now that I like him, I wonder if he might grow to like me too. When he does, maybe we could start dating. Would that make me Beel's new mum? Where is Beel's real mum? Is she still in the picture? Will she get in the way?

Suddenly I realise there is another problem I have to deal with first. Something that will stop me dating him sooner than some hypothetical mother...

While these thoughts are running through my head Oga takes Beel off of his back and sits him on the desk. With an explosive sigh Oga sinks onto his chair.

While I am still working through my problem, I feel his sigh on the back of my neck and, without thinking, speak loudly enough for the entire room to hear my current thought.

"I need to quit the Red Tails"

* * *

A/N - It's funny. Every time I write a chapter I assume it's going to be drastically shorter than the last. I'm sorry that they just get longer.

Thank you to everyone that has favorited or is following my story. An enormous thank you to those who have given me feedback through their reviews; so far they have been positive but with a new chapter comes a new opinion, so keep them coming.

To Hanna Kaizer - Gracias and here it is you don't have to wait anymore. I wanted to personal message you with a thank you for forcing me to try and remember my Spanish lessons from years ago to translate what you had written! :P I'll admit I cheated with the last bit.

To Otamegane - Do you still feel like it's going to be good? I hope so.

To Frayner - Thanks for dealing with my freak out about the update time for this site. You were right.

Well thanks again and I hope you enjoyed reading this.

Oh yeah before I forget... I was hoping to get an image for the story icon. If anyone wants to draw one for me I would be happy to use it.

P.S.

To Kerry (my disbelieving mother) - Yes this is me. I know I used to suck at English but I got better.


	4. Chapter 3 - Lamia

Chapter 3 – Lamia

Though I feel like I am ripping the heart from my chest, I tell Hilda I will support her in chasing her new love.

I as I wonder why the action is so painful, I think of the events that have led to this point.

After Hilda and I had arrived at my new classroom, she left me and hurried inside.

"So... are you my other transfer?" The voice made me turn to see a strangely dressed man looking at me. With a start, I realised this was to be my new teacher; I hurriedly covered my surprise at his appearance by introducing myself.

"Yes... sir," I wondered if I should really address him so formally, "my name is Lamia. What should I call you... and what do you mean 'other transfer'?"

"Just call me Saotome. I meant exactly what I said, when I called you the other transfer. The guy behind me is joining today too. Lucky me!" the teacher, Saotome, said with a feigned grimace.

In truth, until Saotome had pointed him out, I hadn't noticed the guy who had been following the teacher. He had brown hair, brown eyes, and stood at around 6 foot. He may not have been bad looking but he would never have drawn her eye in a crowd.

As Saotome breezed me, lighting the cigarette that had been behind his ear a moment before, to enter the room, I saw something about the 'other transfer' that did in fact draw my eye.

"You brought a baby to school with you, seriously?" I'd seen the tuft of green hair that belonged to the baby from under his arm.

The nameless transfer heaved a large sigh. "I haven't the energy to explain this more than once today. So can you wait 5 minutes so I can just say it to everyone?"

While I indignantly searched for the appropriate response, I heard Saotome announce the two of us. Turning on my heel, I walked into the room and away from him.

"Hey, you mind if we sit in the back? I know you won't stop smoking but I want Beel breathing as little as possible."

My respect for him climbed a little, as I saw that he was taking the baby's health into as much consideration as he could. It fell right back down when he kicked, what I assume must have been a friend, out of the seat behind Hilda.

The newly relocated guy, I think the brute called him Furuichi, was cute. He had, what seemed to be, naturally silver hair and beautiful grey eyes.

My assessment of Furuichi was halted when Hilda caught my eyes. As the guy with the baby walked towards her, Hilda's face was racing through different emotions faster than I could catalogue them.

Soon after he sat down, Hilda bizarrely blurted out something about leaving the Red Tails... but what the hell is a Red Tail? My confusion, however, was not mirrored on the faces of the other girls in the class; those faces registered shock.

I made a point to ask Hilda later what she was talking about.

Saotome, loudly, cleared his throat next to me.

"So, new kids, why don't you both introduce yourselves." looking pointedly at the guy who had already taken, in both forms of the word, his seat, "You can go first."

"My name is Oga Tatsumi," he lifted the baby that was perched on the table, "and this is my nephew, Beel. I'm all the kids got left so I'm his new guardian. Before anyone asks, I can't afford day-care and that's why he is here with me."

Oga laid his head on his desk after he finished speaking. While I still didn't like him, I realised I had a different opinion of the guy and then it was my turn to introduce myself.

"Hi. I'm Rachmaninoff Lamia," hushed whispers about my obviously foreign name flew around the room, "don't bother trying to call me by my surname, just call me Lamia. I'll be helping out my mother in the nurses office as much as possible, so if I don't turn up to a lesson it's because I'm with her. I hope we can get along."

After I finished speaking I went to take the only open seat in the room, right next to Furuichi. The guy turned to me as I took my bag off my shoulder, throwing me a smile that made my heart flutter for some reason. Wondering about why it had done that, I took my seat and got a pad of paper and a pen out of my bag.

Having not even registered yet, I didn't have any of the textbooks I would need for the day. Hoping I wouldn't need any of them, I settled in for what was not going to be good day.

Noting my distress, Furuichi asked, "You want to pull our desks together so you can share my textbooks?"

Unable to think of a reason to refuse, but also unable to speak past the ball that seemed to appear in throat, I nodded my assent. With a squeal, Furuichi shifted his table and proceeded to place his textbooks on the centre line between us.

First period turned out to be English. Saotome started the lesson by forcing different students to read from the text in front of them. The passages didn't really seem that hard to read being written in modern, rather than Shakespearian, English; the other students didn't share her feelings though. One by one they stumbled through the words, Saotome loudly correcting any mispronunciation, till Saotome had finished with them and picked his next victim.

"Furuichi, you have a go." Saotome called. Seeing he was getting no reaction he picked up a piece of chalk from the blackboard and, with a sharp underhand flick, he threw the small missile making it connect at the hinge of Furuichi's jaw.

The impact to one of the body's many pressure points drew Furuichi out of his contemplation of whatever was outside the window. He had been sat in that position since the beginning of the class, not listening to anything that had been said, but now his attention was firmly on the man at the front of the class.

"Saotome, what the hell was that for?" Furuichi asked in righteous indignation.

"I said it was your turn to read."

To help him, I pointed at the place where the previous guy had finished, and he muttered a thank you under his breath.

With a heavy sigh he started to read the passage in flawless, unaccented English. Rather than finish there, after each sentence he proceeded to translate it back into Japanese. In truth I was stunned at what he had done. When Saotome finally told him to stop, Furuichi turned back to his study of whatever was outside the window and didn't pay attention to any more of the class.

The next class was maths, and Furuichi was able to show the same level of aptitude to that as well. As soon as Saotome had finished writing a problem on the board, Furuichi had written the answer on the paper in front of him.

I could do every problem in about 10 seconds but I needed to use the formulae I had in my head. That didn't seem to be how Furuichi worked. He just knew the answer without trying, it scared me in a way; I'd never met anybody smarter than me before, and I definitely hadn't expected to find him at this school.

As the bell rang, signalling the start of break-time, I turned to look for Hilda. Unfortunately she had been surrounded by a group of girls from the class who, after a hushed, excited conversation, pulled her from the room. Furuichi's glance was no more fruitful, since all he saw was Oga hurrying from the room after a, none too subtle, sniff of Beel's lower body.

That left the 2 of us alone together. Having wholly expected Furuichi to turn back to the window, I was shocked when he turned toward me.

"It's been bugging me all morning –" Furuichi inquired tentatively, "– and I don't want you to take any offence but you don't seem quite old enough for this class. Did you skip a few grades?"

My desire to continue this conversation winning out against the indecision I felt at letting him know about me, I told him about myself. How, while only 13, I had the qualifications to enter college already; about how, rather than do that, I wanted to get some experience with my before I went to college.

Furuichi listened intently as I spoke, his eyes never left my face. Embarrassed under his scrutiny I decided to ask about his circumstances.

"Furuichi," I began, "from watching you in the last 2 classes, I realised that you are probably smarter than I am..." I paused, trying to decide how I should proceed.

Furuichi breathed a heavy sigh before speaking, "And you are wondering why I'm at this school still. Why I haven't graduated already?"

I nodded without saying a word, scared that anything I said might cause him to stop speaking.

He didn't speak from a long moment but then he began.

"Both of my parents are lawyers, my uncles are lawyers, my grandfathers were lawyers... you get where I'm going with this. When they noticed that I was as clever as I am they decided that I would have to follow them into the family business. I had no choice in the matter. I will be a lawyer or I will be disowned. Do you know what it's like having your choices taken away like that?"

He was silent again for a few seconds before he continued.

"When I realised my future was going to be decided for me, I looked for any little way that I could rebel. Rather than getting 100% on all my tests I decided to only answer for the first 87%. Since then I have without fail scored 87 on my tests, regardless of subject. I also refuse to skip grades, no point rushing toward a future that I don't want but have no way to avoid. These are the best I can do."

Something niggled in my mind.

"Okay... but why 87?"

The silver haired boy beside me chuckled with genuine warmth.

"To be honest, I really don't know. I just kinda picked a number out of thin air. Is that really the only thing you are worried about? Not that I may be squandering my future with my petty defiance? You just want to know why I chose 87. You really are a strange girl Lamia." After he finished he chuckled again.

"Not really, what you're doing makes sense. You say you are squandering your future but you aren't. You are denying, in the only way you can, the future that others have forced upon you; exerting control on your own life, when everyone else wants to take control themselves. As I said, it makes perfect sense. Your choice of number didn't." I finished with a smile.

While I was speaking, Hilda had returned to the room and taken her place toward the back of the room; soon after the bell rang and Saotome started the lesson.

I didn't another chance to talk to Furuichi since, at lunch time, I had something I needed to do. Hilda went with me to the office so I could fill in paperwork I should have done this morning, and suddenly I was an official student of Ishiyama High School. After we'd finished, Hilda and I went and ate a hurried lunch with my mum.

Hilda proposed that after school she should show me around the town and I happily accepted. We'd only just moved in so I hadn't had a chance to check anything out; besides, it gave me more time with Hilda.

So, slightly more than 2 hours later, the 2 of us left through the school gates.

We strolled through the town; hands linked, and chatted about all the things we had missed in each other's lives. Hilda was telling me about a small second-hand bookstore she loved, when her breathe caught, and she pulled me down a small alley.

"Hilda, what did you so th..." my words were cut off as she put her finger to her lips. Rather than answer my unfinished question, she peered around the end of the alley. Curious about what made my, usually calm and collected, cousin act like this; I stuck my head around too and saw what she was staring at and my stomach sunk.

Furuichi and the other transfer were walking down the street eating croquettes and laughing at some joke I couldn't hear.

"He's glorious, isn't he? So sure in what he is doing..." awe in her voice she continued talking but I couldn't hear.

"I'll help you get him." I heard myself say, almost as if someone else were saying the words.

After replaying the day I've come up with the only thing that makes sense. It's obvious that Hilda likes Furuichi, she said as much, but I realise I like him too.

I can't do anything that will hurt Hilda; I know she's never felt this way about a guy before.

But it hurts.

It hurts to stand aside.

It hurts knowing that I've already lost. Even if we were both going to confess to him I would lose every time.

Hilda is beautiful with her long golden hair and the mountains on her chest. What am I in comparison? I've got this stupid, almost comical, bubble-gum pink hair that barely reaches my shoulders. With my non-existent bust and tiny height, so much so, that I got mistaken for a 10 year old just last week.

He would never choose me.

I force a smile to my lips so that Hilda doesn't notice the void that opened up where my heart used to be. It isn't her fault she likes Furuichi, why in the world wouldn't she? He is perfect.

It's me who isn't perfect for him.

I quickly make an excuse to leave, even I'm not sure what I'm saying, and I take off at a run down the street.

I may not blame her for how she feels, but I can't be around her for another second.

* * *

A/N - So what did you think?

I still haven't had any offers of a picture to use for the story yet :'( is nobody interested?

As always please review and let me know your opinions, good or bad.

To Fraynor - Thanks again for your VERY quick review.

To PinkSamurai1 - No she didn't :P I wanted to get the ball rolling on my other pairing so the confrontation won't happen for another couple of chapters.

To my unspecified 'Guest' - Yes I made her sweet and loving... at least in the confines of her own head and with those close to her. When with Oga I plan to make her the Hilda we all know and love.

To Otamegane - As I said in the PM I don't plan to have the AoixOgaxHilda love triangle in this fic. 4 main characters + Beel is going to be more than enough for me.

To Hanna - Thanks again for the Spanish lesson ;)

That's all my thanks for this chapter I guess. If you are interested in doing an illustration for the chapter PM me and we can work out a way for me to get it.

Circa, over and out.


	5. Chapter 4 - Furuichi

Chapter 4 – Furuichi

Beel has started crying, so I pause the game; my character's sniper scope is perfectly lined up to take the head of the zombie that is climbing in through the window in the game.

It can't be helped I guess... a real, living baby comes before the hordes of the animated undead, 10 times out of 10.

As I look at Oga rock Beel in his arms, I notice how different this guy is from the one who moved away only a few years ago.

"What's up with him?" I ask Oga. It seems like he can differentiate between the baby's different cries, I can't think of any other way for him to know so easily what is wrong with the baby.

Oga chuckles and leaves the room; he purposely doesn't answer my question. Peeved at that I think about the eventful day we've had to cheer myself up.

The first chance I got to speak to Oga, after we got to the classroom, was when we went up to the roof of the school so we could have our lunches. After quickly inhaling the 2 croquettes that he had stolen from my house last night, Oga set to feeding Beel from the little jars of mush that he carried in his bag.

"I thought babies only drank milk?" My confusion raised the end of the statement so that it became a question.

"Nah, Beel's over a year old now so you need to intersperse formula with solid food." The silence stretched on until my curiosity won out over my common sense.

"Oga... where the hell did you learn to fight like that? That wasn't brawling. It was like... it was like... art." Awe crept into my tone at the end.

Oga sighed, but didn't stop persistently trying to feed the infant who seemed to actively be trying to wear more food than he ate.

"You know that school I got the scholarship to go to?" He asked without looking at me.

"Yeah, you got it for getting into the national championships. That sure as hell wasn't karate though!" I argued.

"I know... I wasn't asking you to answer the question. It was rhetorical." I blushed but he continued. "Well the instructor of their dojo took one look at me as I warmed up and told me I wasn't ready to join it, kicking me out. I got a letter later that night saying the terms of my scholarship had changed, and I had to do another set of classes for a month before I was allowed to continue with my martial arts. If I did not attend them I would lose my place at the school."

"Let me guess you had to go join the athletics lot until you were fitter." I leered at him.

"Nope." I caught the hint of a smile as it tugged at the side of his lips. "I'll admit that I was expecting something along those lines; I couldn't have been more wrong. When I arrived at the room that was specified in the agreement I was surprised to find it had one wall that was just floor-to-ceiling mirrors. I'd just decided that I had the wrong room when my new instructor walked in."

A wall of mirrors that would help with his fighting? Oga's grin broadened at the confusion, that trying to piece the 2 together, splashed across my face.

"They had decided I would learn ballet." He let that sink in and I started to laugh, the image of the guy before me in tights and a tutu was just too funny.

"I tried to refuse at first, but they reminded me that my place in the school depended on it. When the girls turned up too I very nearly said screw the school... but I calmed down when I realised the agreement stipulated nothing about having to work hard at it. So initially I didn't, just doing everything half-arsed. The problem was I overheard a few of the girls talking about how bad I was and it riled me up. From then on I started taking it seriously, practicing when I was alone and could borrow a dance room. By the end of the month I could keep up with the best dancers in the class."

Though I wasn't really impressed with what he was doing it in, I had to admit that getting that good, that quickly, was damn impressive.

"So then I went back to the dojo, having served out my sentence. We started our warm up and I started to notice that the other students didn't seem as good as they had a month ago. Their high kicks didn't have the same reach as mine. When they landed from a jumping kick they would have to take a moment to rebalance themselves. When they were dripping with sweat and begging for a break, I wasn't short of breath in any way. You should have seen the smug look on the instructor's face when he saw me react to my analysis."

"So what happened then?" I asked, interested now.

"I decided I would continue with the ballet, though I no longer had to, but my dance teacher had other ideas. She told me that I wouldn't get better by staying in the class I was in. If I wanted to get better, I had better move into the senior class. The next couple of months were a haze of pain as I pushed my body in both ballet and karate, then one day my karate instructor said we were going to have a sparring competition. I was excited; I finally got to see what my months of work had achieved."

"And how did you do? Did you win?" I asked excitedly.

Oga barked a laugh. "Too easily. The months of lifts I'd practiced had tightened every muscle in my body till I was nothing but a coiled spring. I originally got to championships off the back of my reaction speed, and suddenly I had a body that was able to keep up with what my mind wanted it to do. I could block everything aimed at me without really trying, and my body had so much power I wasn't used to that the fights would end after my first kick. After that I decided I would spar anymore, too many people got hurt, so when the others sparred I would just study them. I started to notice little things about how people moved; more importantly, I started to notice precursors to those movements. I decided to try and use my new found knowledge in a sparring session and asked the others to just try and hit me. I sucked at first, as the others liked to rub in my face, but soon I could dodge every punch, avoid every kick. I got people to gang up on me but still they couldn't touch me. Soon I didn't have to look for, and interpret, the signs; suddenly my brain would just let me know where to move. I'd gained a –" Oga searched for the word, "– hyper-awareness during fights, it bordered on precognition."

"That sounds awesome! It's like you have spidey-sense" I exclaimed, but then I looked at his face. "So why don't you seem happy about it?"

Oga breathed a heavy sigh before answering. "I can't turn it off anymore. These days I unconsciously log everything that happens around me. I tense to spring whenever someone walks toward me. I feel everyone's movements from all around me. It's exhausting." And he sounded exhausted. For the first time I realised why Oga hadn't felt elated at his win earlier.

For him there was no adrenaline; he never felt any sort of fear because he had never been in any sort of danger from the 4 amateurs who he'd fought earlier. For him, it was like kicking a scrawny, toothless dog for barking too loud.

Breaking out of my reverie I saw that Beel had fallen asleep during the story and Oga moved to lay down, Beel along his body. I decided to lie down too, and that was how we spent the rest of our lunch break. Just lying there in silence as we watched the clouds morph into various, fantastical shapes, we spoke only to comment on particularly vivid shapes as they formed in the sky.

The bell's ring brought us back to reality, and we hurried to pack up Beel's things before Saotome could complain about our tardiness.

I realised, as I sat down, that I had spent most of the morning looking out of the window at the scene of the fight earlier and hadn't really look at the girl sat beside me. Over the next few hours I pretended to listen to whatever the teacher was talking about. In truth, I was surreptitiously studying the girl who had been sitting beside me all morning.

She had asked me questions that I would rarely answer truthfully. Usually, when someone asked why I was still in school, I would evade the question or play the jester and say something like, "but how would I cope without seeing Saotome's beautiful face every day". When _she_ asked however, I just felt compelled to drop the charade and tell her the truth.

As I looked at her, from the corner of my eye, I started to notice how beautiful she was. Whether it was her entrancing, emerald eyes or the way her powder pink, pixie-cut hair moved as she alternated between staring at what was written on the blackboard and the paper she was writing on. Maybe what attracted me, since I was sure that I found her attractive now, was her obvious intelligence and drive to do what she wanted to do.

Too soon for my liking, the bell sounded the end of the day. Lamia and Hilda left together soon after school ended, I watched Lamia's retreating figure as they left through the school gates and suddenly Oga was beside me.

"I need to go shopping. You wanna join me, then come over to my house and play some games?" He asked me. I had nothing better planned, so we set off to the supermarket in the centre of town.

Oga picked up a bag of croquettes from a guy who was selling them fresh, and started munching on one while we walked.

Wanting to break the silence I asked, "So did you see any girls you liked the look of today?"

"There was only one girl that interested me at all today. It was the _really_ hot blonde who was sat in front of me. I'm pretty sure I burned that bridge though... she saw the fight earlier." He looked dejected at that but I wasn't so sure. What she had said soon after he sat down, gave me hope that his plight was not as bad as he feared.

"Oga, what did you think to the other transfer, that Lamia girl?" I asked, feigning indifference.

"Well she was a bit young-looking for my tastes." Noticing my slight wince he went on. "Something a friend of mine, from my old school, said to me suddenly comes to mind. He moved to Japan from England and they have a saying that goes something like, 'if there's grass on the pitch you can play cricket'"

It took me a second to comprehend the innuendo, but as I did I joined Oga as he guffawed. Not really wanting to continue the conversation so publicly, we finished shopping to the accompaniment of a series of anecdotes from our lives when we were apart.

Oga returning to the room, without Beel, wakes me up from my contemplation of the day.

"Beel was just tired," he finally answered my earlier question, "I put him to bed so we should probably turn off the PS3. We will just have to start killing the undead again tomorrow." Oga says with a grin so infectious I can't help but agree with him.

As the console's fan stops whirring, Oga decides it's time to continue our earlier conversation.

"So why did you bring up Lamia?" He asks while holding my gaze; I hesitate before answering.

"I know she is younger than me, and looks even younger than she is, but... there's just something about her. Ever since I first _really_ looked at her, I can't help but realise how right she is for me." I go on to recall my earlier observations about her and how she makes me feel.

Oga waits for me to finish before speaking.

"If you feel that way about her I support you 100%, and I'm sure she will like you too." He adds with a smile. I see his face drop as he continues. "Now if there was some way to make Hilda un-see what she saw, we could both be happy." I carefully structure my response.

"I don't think things are as bleak as you assume. You remember when you sat down behind her and she said she wants to leave the Red Tails..." I only continue after he nods assent, "well as I told you earlier, if a girl wants to date she –"

"– has to leave them" Oga finishes for me.

"And in truth you never dared to look at her face after the fight, I did, and she didn't look scared. In awe of, maybe, but not exactly scared of what you did. So maybe it isn't as burned as you think. Maybe that bridge is still standing." I finish by mimicking his earlier statement.

We are silent for a moment.

"Okay, let's do this. Tomorrow we will both go to who the other is interested in and see if we are both thinking wistfully."

We grasp each other's forearms as a way to seal ourselves to Oga's plan. It may backfire horribly, but I realise I am really looking forward to what tomorrow will bring.

* * *

A/N - So the first day draws to a close. But day 2 isn't going to be any easier.

What do you all think? I plan to release chapters 5 & 6 at the same time as they will be shorter than usual and will cover 2 viewpoints of _very_ similar events.

As I always ask please review and let me know how the chapter was. Praise will make me happy but criticism will help me write the next chapters better than the last.

Now to my thanks:

To pinksamurai1014 - Yep, you did spell it wrong :P and thank you for letting me know of the errors, I went back to it immediately and tried to fix them (sorry if I missed any a second time).

To Frayner - Thank you, and I plan to keep it up :P I know know where the story will end up at the moment I'm not sure when I will get there so look forward to getting sick of me. :D

To Silent Reader 6100 - Thank you so much. And it is always nice to have a new reviewer. I hope to hear from you again.

To A Yellow Snowball - Firstly the idea of what your name represents gives me shivers ;) I don't mean to blow my own trumpet but I must admit that I do fit that _very_ well.

To xxtherealbulletxx - You were right in your assumption :) but I refuse to resolve it quite yet. I'm gonna have some fun with it first.

To hanna kaizer - Actually I didn't come up with the name myself. It is Dr. Furcus' last name. I put it in there as a bit of an easter egg for die hard fans of the manga :)

And that's everyone. Thank you again to everyone who thinks my story is worth fav-ing/following.

And that's it. Circa out.

PS - If you start missing me between releases you can check out the Twilight fic "A New Life, her Old Life" that I am writing concurrently with this.

The idea for it came to me when I listened to the Twilight audio-books in the hopes that it would help me write the women in this story better. I don't hold with the Jack Nicholson approach from 'As Good As It Gets', where he says to write a woman just think of a man and remove all sense of accountability.


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